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Loved it! 😍
My daughter is very excited to start her own mini garden thanks to this book.
Dance along with Eka and Ballerina Konora in this interactive adventure story. Eka’s family creates a garden, but Eka worries animals may destroy all their hard work. When playful elephants visit, will Eka find a way to save the vegetables and flowers?
Each Dance-It-Out! story is a kids’ dance performance for the imagination stage. Ballerina Konora joins the pages with dance photos and suggestions for movement exploration. Three books in one: readers can enjoy the story, act out the tale in their own way, or try Konora’s suggested activities, designed by an award-winning ballet teacher to develop body awareness and movement knowledge.
I have found that children who tend to a garden, farm, orchard, etc., better understand and appreciate the food they consume. If you have children who might shy away from veggies, consider planting and managing a garden together.
As I was reading Eka and the Elephants with my youngest, I noticed she was very fascinated with the girl on each page, what she was doing, and wanted to mimic her actions. She was more invested in that than the overall story. That wasn't a bad thing, she was engaging with the story, so I was pleased. I believe an older child will like every aspect of the book more than a (barely) three-year-old. BTW: I couldn't locate a recommended age group, but I suspect it's meant for someone a wee bit older. I could be wrong. Since I received an advance copy, not yet visible on Amazon when I wrote this, I can only make an educated guess.
As for the overall writing, I loved the mental image certain lines painted in my mind, such as "the shoots looked like little green hands waving hello" and "they had long tendrils, like octopus legs reaching out in all directions."
I also liked the bit of trivia information weaved into the story, "Did you know elephants can eat seven times as much food, and drink five times as much water as a human? And elephants don't like bees, even though they're at least a hundred times bigger!" A fascinating tidbit to share with your friends!
The illustrations by Cristian Gheorghita were outstanding. We adored the purple elephants. As an extended activity, we counted all the animals we could find. We talked about a vegetable or flower garden that would be more fun to grow. She chose a flower, of course. We made plans to start on our garden. So, while my youngest's attention span wavered here and there, they did enjoy reading it. They are excited about our weekend plans of starting a mini garden, so this book is MOM approved. Daughter approved.
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Synopsis
Dance along with Eka and Ballerina Konora in this interactive adventure story. Eka’s family creates a garden, but Eka worries animals may destroy all their hard work. When playful elephants visit, will Eka find a way to save the vegetables and flowers?
Each Dance-It-Out! story is a kids’ dance performance for the imagination stage. Ballerina Konora joins the pages with dance photos and suggestions for movement exploration. Three books in one: readers can enjoy the story, act out the tale in their own way, or try Konora’s suggested activities, designed by an award-winning ballet teacher to develop body awareness and movement knowledge.
About the author
—> 28 books to spark imagination and inspire children to MOVE, breathe, and connect —> Created by a mom-daughter team passionate about books and dance, who donate royalties —> Visit DanceStories.com for details/local sellers. Also available via your local bookstore, library, Amazon, or Bookshop.org. view profile
Published on May 24, 2022
2000 words
Worked with a Reedsy professional 🏆
Genre: Picture Books
Reviewed by
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